Our mistakes in Michelin strike

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A NEW Treasury document to be presented to the National shows the drift of the Government's current thinking on labour relations.

It calls for a fundamental shift in attitudes and practices in the labour market (including greater willingness to move to jobs), lower relative wages for trainees, the unskilled and sery. ice workers; much greater flexibility in hours and shift working, coupled with new forms of employment contract; and an end to 'artificial' entry barriers to trades and professions.

Another idea floated by the Government recently is that there should be much wider regional variations in pay, so that areas like Scotland, the North East and Merseyside would have markedly lower wage rates than the South East.

In its long-term forecast, the Treasury document sees manuRectining and dill ecs mont dechning, 1008 1108L likely to appear in the private service sector.

It reports that: "The disappearance of jobs in declining industries is rarely followed as quickly as we woul 1 all like by the creation of n ew jobs in industries that are expanding, and rarely are they in the same place"

ONE AREA of expansion under the Tories has been the armed forces. Overall recruitment was 77% higher in the last quarter than in the corresponding period of 1982. Total strength has risen by 3,500 during the last quarter, and is now 2,200 up on a year ago.

THREE DAYS of talks between civil service unions and the Land Registry appear to have produced a formula to be put to meetings this week. A three-week dispute has brought almost 500 civil servants, at 12 of the 13 district registries, out on strike.

The proposed settlement in effect gives the go-ahead to the changes in working practices which management wants to impose, and against which the unions struck. It is understood to provide for a two-month trial for the changed working practices. At the end of the two months, management have said that they will reconsider the extent of their cost-cutting plans.

SO YOU thought that the spirit of capitalist enterprise was dead in Britain? Well, you were wrong. It is not dead. It has fled to Stockport and made its home in the fat carcass of Mr Eddie Shah.

The history of Shah's Messenger Group of free advertising sheets is one of the great success stories of post-war British entrepreneurship. If Shah goes down before the picketing hordes of print worker luddites and their subversive Red auxiliaries it will be a bad day for British industry. ARTHUR BOUGH spoke to senior TGWU Branch official MicheliA.

"Since the five week long official strike and magnificent victory of the production and verification workers at Michelin, Stoke, tremendous problems have been faced by the workers.

In January 1983 the company announced that there would be no pay negotiations until at least Spring 1984. Because the membership was intimidated by 250 redundancies which had just been made, no action was taken.

Then in April, the Company announced proposals which would have removed uniform shift allowances, and replaced them with allowances based upon a worker's own average rate; reduced the day-workers working week without compensation, and imposed a commitment to seven day working on a compulsory basis.

But centre stage at Michelin was occupied by a fight to stop the company imposing four-set, seven day working in the car tyre production and verification sections. The pay negotiations became of secondary importance to the membership.

In the August strike Michelin workers won a complete victory over the company who had to abandon the attempt to impose seven day working.

Now the pay negotiations are back again at centre stage. In September the convenor and full time official started negotiations with management on the strings management wanted to attach to the pay increase. They got no improvement in the compensation for the reduction in hours or over the new basis of calculating shift allowances. But management was forced to withdraw their proposals for compulsory seven day working.

Clause These negotiations were the result of a clause in the return to work agreement that ended the five week strike in August, which ctated that . neontiatinns would TT VUIL commence on the need for greater efficiency within the plant by the introduction of a seven day working week.

In October a mass meeting of all the workers rejected the whole deal until an amendment was added that "should anyone Shah must survive. And to survive he needs business. While Reds and troublemakers go on the picket line to show what they think of Shah, or ring him up to tell him, right thinking folk like yourself, dear reader, can best show your support for him by offering him your adverts and by helping his distribution network to run smoothly.

To assist you in this Socialist Organiser is printing a full list of Shah's telephone numbers. Ring in an add or give the poor beleagured man a buzz to tell him what you think of him and be compelled to work at weekends then the whole factory would come out on strike". With this proviso the deal was finally accepted.

Michelin management, however, continued to insist on the need for seven day working and made threats that the plant would close if seven day working was not conceded. Eventually in November the union negotiators obtained acceptable proposals.

Compare " the Company's attempted imposed conditions with the final proposals:

The company's desired four set rota would have meant workers working two week-ends out of three. As compensation they were offered an increase in pay of approximately f10 a week. After negotiation the following clauses were obtained by substituting five set working for four set working.

*Working hours reduced from 40 to 34 on average i.e. a four day week with additional rota day every fifth week. This reduction in hours to take place without loss of pay.

*Full working of only one weekend in five, and either the complete weekend or Saturday or Sunday off, on the other four weekends.

Holidays

*Guarantee of holidays with the area.

*Right of members over the age of 53 to opt out of the system after six months.

*The employment of approximately 200 new workers.

A mass meeting of the membership rejected these proposals.

Then the company asked for volunteers to work the new shifts, and there was a 90% agreement in the affected departments. This situation was accepted by the union officers and the proposals have now been accepted on a voluntary basis.

The company now realise that they made a mistake in attempting to impose the new shifts. Management now say that in future the union will be fully consulted. The five set rotas started on Sunday 20 November.

It is my opinion that we as union officers failed the membership on the important points. We should never have accepted any clause which reduced the working week without compensation. We should have totally rejected the clause which returns different his work to regenerate British industry and return the trade unions to the days of good old Queen Victoria.

SHAH'S PHONE NUMBERS: Tele Ad numbers: Bury. 061797 5600; Stockport 061-477 4270 and 061-477 4600; Sale, 061-969 8411; Altrincham, 061928 5799; Urmston, 061-747 5988. Typesetting: 061-480 5507 and 061-477 2945: Distribution:

Editorial: 061477 5636 and 061969 8416.

Michelin workers vote to end strike shift allowance payments according to a worker's ability to earn bonus payments. There was an obvious lack of leadership amongst the shop stewards in failing to recommend total rejection of the whole package at the October meeting."

ARTHUR BOUGH COMMENTS:

Whatever the weaknesses of the branch leadership, some of which were outlined by the branch official 1 spoke to, workers at Michelin have again demonstrated that : the bosses' offensive can be turned back. made by Michelin workers in the final package.

Firstly, they are probably the first group of manual workers to break through the 35 hour week barrier. By so doing they have confounded the view expressed at the recent CBI conference. As a result, 200 more workers will have to be recruited force of 6,000.

The other lesson from Mich in is that they were clear in thi minds earlier this year that th won their strike not because some clever union bureauci negotiator but through their or strength. That is why they we confident enough to reject t advice of their union officials accept the original versions of t deal.

That feeling of confiden must be built throughout t labour movement by organisi the rank and file for action defence of pay and jobs. If ott workers throughout Britain h the same self-confidence in th strength as Michelin workers no have, Thatcher could be remov from office tomorrow.

There is one final less though. That the final deal arriv at can be seen as an advance is many ways a sign of the pc state of the labour moveme and in particular of the TT leaders. For the last ten years t TUC has been calling for a hour week - and that's all i done, called for it.

The message from Michel Stoke, to the TUC is clear -you really want to cut une ployment organise industr action for a 35 hour week no better still for a sliding scale hours so that hours worked a reduced in line with what needed to give every worker a jo